Adrien Quatennens, a French MP belonging to the France Unbowed party has received a four month suspended prison sentence after being found guilty on charges relating to domestic violence.
Quatennens was given a four month suspended prison sentence for "violence without incapacity committed by a spouse" on dates between October and December 2021, as well as for sending "regular and malicious messages" to his wife between August and September 2022.
He has been ordered to pay €2,000 in damages.
An MP in Lille in the north of France and a rising figure of the far-left France Unbowed party (LFI), Quatennens admitted slapping his wife Céline in a moment of mutual aggression in September.
He acknowledged that the couple were in the throes of divorce at the time.
His wife told French news agency AFP that she had suffered "physical and psychological violence" over "several years" from her husband, evoking "his anger" and "his crises".
The LFI released a statement on Tuesday afternoon saying that Quatennens would be expelled from representing the LFI-NUPES alliance in parliament for the next four months.
His return to the Assembly would be dependent on his "commitment to follow a training course with feminist associations".
A solemn warning
After the hearing, the MP's lawyer, Jade Dousselin, told the press that "this 4-month suspended sentence [was] a solemn warning" but that it shouldn't prevent him from resuming his place in the National Assembly.
Quatennens has not spoken since the revelation of the affair in the satirical newspaper Le Canard enchaîné, apart from a press release on Twitter to announce his withdrawal from the post of LFI coordinator.
Since then he has come under pressure from some members of the party to step down as MP as well.
Several activists from the feminist collective #NousToutes, wearing purple armbands were present outside at the court house in Lille on Tuesday to demand his resignation.
A dozen elected officials and activists from LFI also gathered in the freezing cold to support Quatennens.
"We hope he comes back. We can't do without a speaker like Adrien Quatennens in the fight that is preparing for pensions," one of these supporters said.
The case has shaken the confidence of the party which has faced several scandals this year and is also facing a leadership crisis.
